Budget 2017: Senate rules out constitutional crisis

President Muhammadu Buhari (C) presenting copies of the 2017 budget documents to the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.

The controversial report of the 2017 budget may be laid before the Senate in plenary today, it was learnt yesterday.

There were fears of shutdown if the budget was not passed today but Senate sources said that the fears were misplaced.

According to the sources, President Muhammadu Buhari still has a window of six months to draw from the 2016 budget if the 2017 budget is not passed and assented to before May 5th, 2017. President Buhari assented to the 2017 budget on May 5th, 2016.

The implication is that the 2016 budget has a circle of May 5th, 2016 to May 5th, 2017. Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, had assured that 2017 budget would be passed before the expiration of the 2016 budget.

However, Goje told the Senate last week that police operatives who raided his home on April 20, 2017, carted away documents connected to 2017 budget.

He noted that the action of the police made it difficult for his committee to continue work on the budget.

The police, which promptly returned all documents and cash they took from Goje’s residence denied taking away budget documents from Goje’s home.